Mac sales cannibalized by iPad, iMac shortages

Mac sales fell 22 percent in Q4 of 2012 compared to the same period the year before. In an earnings call this week, Apple CEO Tim Cook admitted that the downturn was at least partially caused by the cannibalization of its own computers by the iPad.

Cook also attributed the shortfall to the 27-inch iMac, which only went on sale in mid-December, and has been in short supply since.

As reported by Computerworld, Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) sold just below 4.1 million Macs in the last three months of 2012, compared to 5.2 million sold in the fourth quarter the year before. Further information relating to desktop and laptop sales was unavailable this time around though, as Apple now lists them in a single "Mac" figure.

Apple's MacBook laptops, especially its MacBook Air series, have proven to be highly popular with consumers in the last few years. This is in part due to their sleek form factor and light weight. However, the initiative by Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) to create slim Ultrabook laptops could have hurt the MacBook Air's popularity and contributed to the decline.

Separately, Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) clocked an increase of 24 percent in Windows sales with the launch of Windows 8. The figure is much lower though than the 76 percent increase in sales after Windows 7 was released. It is not evident whether this is related to poor acceptance of the significantly redesigned Windows 8, or a weaker market for non-tablet devices in general.

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